{"id":6867,"date":"2012-10-28T13:28:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-28T13:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/?p=6867"},"modified":"2025-09-05T12:39:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:39:38","slug":"strasbourg-ribal-al-assad-addresses-epp-group-in-european-parliament-on-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/strasbourg-ribal-al-assad-addresses-epp-group-in-european-parliament-on-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"Strasbourg: Ribal Al-Assad addresses EPP Group in European Parliament on Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ribal Al-Assad, Director of the ODFS, this week addressed the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP Group) in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on the crisis in Syria and called for an end to the violence and an united opposition, which works for a peaceful inclusive and democratic transition. The hearing was chaired by Mr. Vito Bonsignore MEP, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group’s Mediterranean Union, Euromed. The speech was well received and followed by a Q & A session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was attended by MEPs and officials from the EPP Group, which is the largest in the European Parliament with 270 Members and 3 Observer Members from Croatia. It brings together centre and centre-right pro-European political forces from the Member States of the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ribal Al-Assad \u015fu konu\u015fmay\u0131 yapt\u0131:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Syria: Diplomacy is the only Chance we have’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel honoured and privileged to be here in Strasbourg \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 with this opportunity to discuss ongoing developments in and around Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Parliament provides a benchmark for democracy across the Continent \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and as the founder of the \u2018Organisation for Democracy and Freedom in Syria\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 my hope is that one day I will be able to speak in a similarly pluralistic institution inside my own country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would also like to thank Elmar Brok and Ioannis Kasoulides \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 for their statement a few months ago \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 in which they stated that the key for President Assad’s departure \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 lies in securing the future of minorities and the formation of an all-inclusive opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope that sentiment reassures those of you \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 who saw my picture recently attached to articles in the Lebanese and Arab media \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 reporting on the arrest of a Syrian Army Lieutenant by the Free Syrian Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I should confirm at this point that it was not me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 but was used as part of the opposition\u2019s campaign of misinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have actually lived in exile from Syria since the age of nine \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 because my ideas differ from those of the regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I have watched with a sense of profound sadness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 as my country has become split internally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is now common knowledge that peaceful protests against an abhorrent regime \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 became hijacked by extremists \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 with the ensuing struggle escalating into civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have always believed that the only remedy to extremism is pluralism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I am sure I speak for every one of us \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 in wishing not just for a democratic solution in my country \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 but for peace in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It could not look more unobtainable right now \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 but I still believe that democracy offers the only route to peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that remains a dream at this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it gives me no pleasure to tell you that my lectures have predicted the current escalation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of violence in Syria and across the region \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 since before the onset of the Arab Spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time last year, I explained how the trickle of civil unrest in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 was becoming a torrent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how that torrent would inevitably push across borders \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 into a full-scale regional war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it only takes a cursory look at the news headlines in the past couple of weeks \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 to see that torrent becoming a tsunami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Turkish military has returned fire after a shell launched from Syria struck the border village of Akcakale \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Syrian and Armenian planes have been forced to land in Turkey, leading to bans effecting Syrian and Turkish air space\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and sectarian-fuelled violence is spreading like wildfire across Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wonder that US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has finally articulated his fears that a regional war is a real possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or that Dmitry Medvedev has warned that military action against sovereign states could lead to a regional nuclear war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or that Iraqi Prime Minister , Nuri al-Maliki has stressed that military intervention in Syria will lead to war and that foreign involvement will lead to regional war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or that President Ahmadinejad has warned that hostilities in Syria could engulf the region \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 particularly as his elite Revolutionary Guard has a presence in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and that Iran and Hezbollah have said openly that they, as part of the \u2018Axis of Resistance\u2019,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

will not allow the Syrian regime to fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or that the Turkish, Saudi, Jordanian and Israeli armies are all on a state of high alert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, inside my country, the well-documented barbarity of the incumbent regime \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 competes with the increasingly extremist opposition \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 to rack-up more human rights violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death toll now stands at 33,000 since hostilities began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it has probably risen since I began speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something needs to be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I believe that Syria\u2019s future is currently being blighted by too many external parties \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 with too many vested interests \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 doing things that are not in the best interests of the Syrian people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would like to use this opportunity to explain why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here in the West \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 we are still regularly treated to a relatively straightforward analysis of the Syrian situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure it will be familiar to you \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 but let\u2019s call it the \u2018Game Above the Table\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And above the table, everything is as it seems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A vicious dictator has persecuted his people \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 a peaceful uprising has been mercilessly put down \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 the political opposition has been forced to work in exile \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 international plays for peace have been conducted at various \u2018Friends of Syria\u2019 conferences \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 endorsed by numerous calls for a ceasefire \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and ongoing UN intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a game played out between good and evil:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US, NATO, UN and opposition forces \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 fighting the incumbent regime \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and frustrated by the geo-political posturing and Security Council veto of Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, this is just not an accurate representation of the forces involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is no Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there is no easy solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practise, there is a more complex and sinister game being played-out under the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And a man who recognises it more than most is Kofi Annan \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 who, having stepped down in his official capacity \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 is now being candid about the realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has recently criticised both the reporting and the wider political understanding of the conflict in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has even praised Russia and China for blocking Western efforts to internationalise the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ama neden?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer stems from three interwoven tiers of conflict honing in on Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first is global.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US, China and Russia have, since before the onset of the Arab Spring \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 been posturing over issues ranging from missile defence shields to the US\u2019 perceived policy of encirclement in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cold War is rearing its head once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as attention has focused on Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin have warned about the impact of military intervention<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 whilst Mitt Romney has declared that Russia \u201cis without question, our No. 1 geopolitical foe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the table, President Obama has signed a covert order authorising support for Syrian rebels \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 permitting the CIA and other US agencies to provide assistance to help oust the Syrian regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia has provided the regime with three million gas masks and surface to sea and air<\/p>\n\n\n\n

missiles …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… not least because it shares with China, a serious concern about the consequences of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Islamic fundamentalism at home \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 in addition to their strategic interests in the region \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and ongoing posturing against the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier two is regional \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 where I have already mentioned the spread of violence out of Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 but now need to highlight the ever-heightening tensions fuelled by a widening Sectarian divide .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Turkish-led Sunni axis encompassing Qatar and Saudi Arabia \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 opposes an Iranian-led Shia axis forming through Baghdad, Beirut and Damascus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines have been drawn \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and unlikely alliances formed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey has been most obviously effected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her combination of democracy and Islam was recently hailed as a benign model for the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

region \u2026typified in the commercial and political partnership with Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And three years ago, Friday\u2019s apparently conciliatory words from Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

foreign minister would have seemed in context:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that \u201cthe best way we can see now is direct humanitarian intervention.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also observed that the future of the regime in Syria is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUltimately a matter for the Syrian people. It is not our business, it is for them to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this was spoken very much \u2018Above the Table\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Were Turkey a truly democratic and supportive neighbour …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… she would have played the diplomat and helped Syria\u2019s seamless transition to democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a more realistic view of Turkey\u2019s rationale, we should remember that President Erdogan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

endorsed the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated SNC opposition in Syria …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 embarked on an increasingly bitter sectarian slanging match with Iraq \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 questioned whether the Syrian President is a \u2018real\u2019 Muslim \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and recently compared the current situation in Syria with the battle of Karbala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This rhetoric is increasingly hard to separate from the Turkish government\u2019s decision last<\/p>\n\n\n\n

month to give the green light for military force against Syria if necessary \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 particularly when the non-Islamic opposition in Turkey remains opposed to intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, it is clear what an impact the outcome of the Syrian conflict will have on so many vested interests across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Turkey there is also the potential impact of independent Kurdish regions in Iraq and Syria on her own Kurds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Tehran and Baghdad there is the need for a strategic ally on the Mediterranean coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Qatar there is Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline deal to overturn \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and the opportunity to build an alternative line to the coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many prominent players in Saudi Arabia \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 the motivation is clearly more sectarian than strategic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Islamic clerics on Saudi-owned WISAL and SAFA satellite TV stations exhort their people to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

join the war against the \u2018Shia and Alawite Infidel\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaidan, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council in Saudi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arabia, calls for jihad against Alawites, even if one third of the Syrian people die in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BBC News has uncovered evidence that weapons intended for the Saudi military have been<\/p>\n\n\n\n

diverted to Syrian rebels in Aleppo \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and the former French intelligence chief has also pointed to Qatari and Saudi funding of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

extremist Islamist groups in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the New York Times reported last week that US intelligence officials have acknowledged that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

groups fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings me to the third tier \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 inside Syria itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The atrocities committed by the regime are relatively well documented \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 the actions of the opposition less so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I am certain that this stems less from an inherent media bias \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 than from a lack of understanding about who the opposition in Syria really are \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and what they really want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a start, we must dispel any notion that this is the same opposition that early in 2011 was<\/p>\n\n\n\n

marching for peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nor is it representative of our people \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 whose mosaic of ethnicity is wide and deep \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 with 45% classified as \u2018minorities\u2019 \u2013 more than any other country in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That initial uprising included people from across the entire spectrum of Syrian society \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 whose only motivation was a better future for Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there were already sinister forces at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the cessation of the war in Gaza …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… and three years before the Arab Spring …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… Turkey had already established close links with the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the Syrian Spring was underway …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… it then formed the Syrian National Congress …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… and, along with Qatar, promoted it as the \u2018official\u2019 opposition to the regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It did so knowing that the Brotherhood made-up eighty percent of its membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It willingly allowed armed opposition and foreign fighters to cross its borders into Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it continues to host the Free Syrian Army\u2019s central command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia started to actively promote other Islamist groups …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… including the Salafis and many Jihadis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All other opposition groups were then excluded from the table at the various Friends of Syria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conferences \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 isolating a number of moderate groups including The Kurdish National Council and my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michel Kilo, a member of the Syria-based National Committee for Democratic Change has<\/p>\n\n\n\n

openly criticized the SNC for this lack of inclusivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He recently suggested that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIts policies have \u2026 complemented the regime in bringing Syria to \u2026 the brink of mass<\/p>\n\n\n\n

destruction and near unspeakable tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, we should remeber that the Annan plan was initially welcomed by the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

International Community \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 but then undermined by the \u2018Friends of Syria\u2019 meeting in Istanbul a week later \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 where the good work above the table was undermined by Qatar and Saudi pledging money<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and arms to the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Kamal al-Labwani, a physician and prominent opposition leader for many years<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 resigned from the Council \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 describing it as “an opposition under the cloak of fanatics hiding behind a veneer of stupid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

liberals\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that \u201cThe Brotherhood are its dominant force. There is the Hama faction, the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Damascus faction and the Aleppo faction of the Brotherhood. The Hama faction is backed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and funded by Qatar and Turkey.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is no surprise that the SNC watched-on as the cause was hijacked by more sinister groups<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 with growing Salafi dominance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As James Clapper, Head of US Intelligence stated last year, the Syrian opposition is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

fragmented and infiltrated by Jihadists including Al Qaeda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This remains the case, and the groups are often at odds with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was clearly illustrated when Abdel Salam Harba \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 the military opposition chief in Western Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 issued an ultimatum for the Christian population to flee the city of Qusayr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so it is not surprising Christian and Armenian fighters have been fighting for over two months in Aleppo \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 to prevent Free Syrian Army rebels from entering Christian areas of the City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many refugees have quoted rebel fighters as shouting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlawites to the graves and the Christians to Beirut\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so it would be a mistake even to assume that every opposition party is motivated by a desire to benefit the Syrian people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their goals are diverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders of Islamist fighters \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 including the Farouq Brigade \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 have now formed the “Front to Liberate Syria”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its leader has explained how they seek a state with Islamic reference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was endorsed by an article in the Jewish Chronicle filed last week from Al Midan, a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

suburb in southern Damascus \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 where an opposition fighter shared his ideas for a post-Assad Syria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We have to a build a society of respect and brotherhood in accordance with the Prophet’s commandments. We will treat non-Muslims kindly, but we have a big fight against the Jews ahead of us. We will take that up, God willing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacques Beres of Medecins Sans Frontieres treated wounded rebels in Aleppo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He quoted them as being intent on waging holy war and establishing an Islamist state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really something strange to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are directly saying that they aren\u2019t interested in Bashar al-Assad\u2019s fall, but are thinking<\/p>\n\n\n\n

about how to take power afterwards and set up an Islamic state with Sharia Law to become<\/p>\n\n\n\n

part of the world Emirate\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also explained that the French citizens in his care were inspired by Mohammed Merah \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 a terrorist who killed a rabbi and three Jewish children in Toulouse in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which made it less surprising two weeks ago that a French terror cell was found to be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

planning a trip to Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings me to the most worrying aspect of this crisis from my perspective:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Namely that Syria is now importing terror and terrorists from across the world \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 all with their own objectives far removed from the future of my country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alarabiya.net quoted a purse seller from Aleppo:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI sell to women in Libya while they send their unemployed men to fight our soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others have travelled from Tunisia, Yemen and most critically, Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kofi Annan pointed to the arrival of groups armed by Arab States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He understandably did not mention names, but there is widespread evidence of extremists arriving in Syria carrying Saudi weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some have arrived from much closer to home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only last week, a group of Islamists were arrested here in the UK on their way to Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Cantlie and Jeroen Oerlemans, the released British and Dutch hostages \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… described their kidnappers as “foreign jihadists\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 from Chechnya, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Britain \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and that some had “Birmingham accents” and at least one other was from South London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as Jihadists flood into the country \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 trouble passes them in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, an intelligence chief opposed to the Syrian<\/p>\n\n\n\n

leadership, was assassinated in Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lebanon has been increasingly combustible ever since \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 with sectarian clashes in the Northern City of Tripoli \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and increasing aggression between fighters pro and anti the Syrian regime elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, the Jordanian military announced that a soldier had been killed in a shootout with militants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information Minister Sameeh Maaytah said the country had witnessed its first military fatality as a result of Syria’s civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, as I have already mentioned \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Turkey is also reeling from the Syrian regime\u2019s retreat from the Hasakah region in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North East \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 which has effectively given freedom for self-rule to its Kurdish majority – led by the Syrian<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurds, the PYD …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… a move that could be seen as a direct response to Turkey\u2019s ongoing support for the SNC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and the armed opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has raised the possibility of a \u2018Kurdish Spring\u2019 inside Turkey where the Turkish<\/p>\n\n\n\n

government are alarmed by the armed alliance of the PKK – the Turkish Kurds \u2013 with the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PYD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the United Nations\u2019 Refugee Agency estimates that 710,000 Syrian refugees will<\/p>\n\n\n\n

require assistance by the end of the year \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 disrupting the delicate balance of interests in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The net result<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could go on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every day my email inbox is inundated with stories of atrocities \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 of arms and fighters entering Syria ..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 of escalating international tension \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 of threats and counter-threats \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 of kidnappings \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 of fires that keep burning as my country continues to disintegrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as long as the game under the table continues \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 with the major powers talking peace whilst playing war \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 the current deadlock will be impossible to break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because no opposition can bring down a regime supported by Iran, Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nor can the regime crush an opposition armed and funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… and supported by Turkey and the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kofi Annan plan was doomed because the UN has to play above the table whilst being<\/p>\n\n\n\n

undermined beneath it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lakhdar Brahimi, Annan\u2019s replacement \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 was not exaggerating when he described his task as \u201cthe impossible job\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as British Labour politician and campaigner Peter Hain wrote on Sunday:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe current policy is failing on a monumental scale. Unless there is a radical change, all the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hand-wringing and condemnation is either empty or hypocritical \u2013 or both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We cannot only apportion blame by pointing East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parallels elsewhere in the region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a frustrated, angry observer, exiled from my country \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 I am no apologist for the regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But an opposition is not worth supporting simply because of the regime it opposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s a view shared by anyone following events in Libya right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t long ago that Britain, along with France, Qatar and the United States …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… backed the opposition in Libya to overthrow a tyrannical dictatorship …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… and effectively gave our blessing to what followed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assassination of the US Ambassador was just the highest profile tragedy to ensue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, demonstrators broke into the grounds of Libya\u2019s parliament \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 forcing their way past perimeter security guards \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 opening fire on police \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and smashed glass on the main doors to the national congress hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday evening the parliament was ringed by troops and militiamen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A placard outside read: “We will die before we surrender Bani Walid.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With swathes of the country now ruled by armed militia \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 this reference was to the fighters of the City of Bani Walid, still loyal to the old regime \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 who are under their fourth day of bombardment from soldiers acting under the orders of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Libya\u2019s new government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bani Walid people are part of the Orfallah tribe \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 which, with 1.5 million members, is Libya\u2019s largest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unbelievable as it may sound …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… a Libyan friend of mine called recently …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… to tell me that he had been offered twenty surface to air missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unbelievable \u2013 but true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the ripple effect from the Libyan intervention has made its way across Africa …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… with weapons from the conflict now being used in Somalia …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… and with the civil war in Mali inflamed by the arms from Libya finding their way into the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hands of Islamist rebels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Syria\u2019s case, the current opposition \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 partly fuelled as it is by Jihadists and sectarian prejudice \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 draws equally close parallels with 1980s Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Ignatius wrote an excellent piece in the Washington Post on that subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western involvement in Syria is implicitly supporting jihadist opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia is an adversary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1980\u2019s the Saudis financed and supported the Mujahedeen in their fight against<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the \u2018godless\u2019 Soviets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That \u2018great victory\u2019 in the depths of the cold war led to rampant fundamentalism that is still<\/p>\n\n\n\n

menacing the Middle East and much of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we can also add Iraq to the mix \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 where latest reports suggest that Al Qaeda is on the rise again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the current climate, it is difficult to predict any alternative outcome from the Syrian<\/p>\n\n\n\n

conflict … although its impact would be greatly exaggerated given Syria\u2019s geo-strategic and political importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so we are caught in a Catch 22 of monstrous proportions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The regime must be replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if it were to fall tomorrow \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 I believe that the conflict would simply be superseded by something equally violent …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… leading to a fragmentation and potential disintegration of the state …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… to be replaced by a political vacuum, leaving Syria at the whim of fundamentalists,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

including Al Qaeda, Salafi and Wahabi elements \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 which can hardly be in its best interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be no happy ending through intervention \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 but there may be through diplomacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koffi Anan has said exactly that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ban Ki Moon observed that “Militarisation only aggravates the situation. I am calling on all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

concerned to abandon the use of violence, and move toward a political solution. That is the only way out of the crisis.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vladimir Putin spoke sense in an interview with RT when explaining that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe realize that this country needs a change, but this doesn\u2019t mean that change should come<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with bloodshed. We would like to stay away from Islamic sectarian conflict, or interfere in a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

showdown involving the Sunnis, the Shia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Current UN Chief, a previous UN General Secretary, and the Russian President all speak out against intervention<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 then the world needs to listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe we are at a significant moment \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 not just in the history of Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 but of the entire Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can either collectively push for peace \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 or allow this situation to explode into all-out war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if we choose the latter \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 then the 33,000 who have fallen to the conflict so far \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 will be a small footnote in terms of what will follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which means that every person interested in democracy, peace and human rights \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 must demand that the world ceases to engage in the game under the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lakhdar Brahimi has called for a ceasefire on 26 October for the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We should do whatever we can to encourage it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must also cease to hold-hands with Jihadists \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 simply because we share a common enemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must cease to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in parts of the Middle East \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 simply because we benefit from vastly profitable trade and defence deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must be rational, calm and democratic even in the face of longstanding sectarian hostility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must discourage the implicit and explicit arming of the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must set an example by engaging with Russia and China to promote a peaceful situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must condemn the extremist clerics advocating the murder of minorities, including the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia who called for “all churches across the region to be destroyed”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must do all we can to ensure that Syrian institutions stay intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must pressure the regime, the opposition and their outside backers into supporting diplomacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, and most urgently, we must entice the Syrian opposition to finally come onto one platform and speak with one voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are still a huge majority of Syrians who want peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is still a civil, national, and democratic movement \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 it just needs encouragement, inclusivity and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a point made clearly by Michel Kilo of the Syrian Democratic Platform \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 who wrote last week of Al Jazeera and Qatar focusing on the extremist elements of the opposition \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 highlighting inflammatory images like the black flag of Salafi fundamentalists \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 whilst hiding from view hundreds of national flags close to or surrounding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still believe that there is an opportunity for a negotiated outcome \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 a view endorsed in an excellent paper published ten days ago by the International Crisis Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Peter Hain observed on Sunday \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 the best road map for peace remains within the guidelines for a political transition<\/p>\n\n\n\n

approved by the five permanent members of the UN security council in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But only if the West, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and their allies drop their current stance and help to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

implement it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Yemen-style process may work \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 where a hated president did not resign but nor did he stand for re-election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A coalition government of national unity could then prepare for Syrian elections, due in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the various elements of the opposition to the regime could work collectively \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 representing all groups within the Syrian population \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and encouraged by the world\u2019s superpowers \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 to say no to extremism \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 then democracy still has a chance of defeating sectarianism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s only a small chance \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 but it is the only chance we have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would be delighted to answer your questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te\u015fekk\u00fcr ederim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ribal Al-Assad, Director of the ODFS, this week addressed the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP Group) in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on the crisis in Syria and called for an end to the violence and an united opposition, which works for a peaceful inclusive and democratic transition. The hearing was chaired by […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meetings-political-engagements","category-speeches"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6876,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6867\/revisions\/6876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}